Banking on Renewable Energy
In Germany, utility companies pay homeowners and businesses for power generated by alternative energies that is fed into the electricity grid. Should the U.S. take note?
“Despite being barely one-20th the size of the U.S. and more often overcast, Germany still manages to produce four times as much solar-generated power. That’s because, according to green-tech analysts, Germany has a government-mandated program that requires utilities there to pay homeowners, warehouse operators and companies for power from their rooftop solar installations. Called a feed-in tariff, it’s an arrangement that clean-tech proponents are pushing California to replicate, hoping that such programs can boost alternative energy production in the state.”
